Tag Archives: OTAs

The Steelers open up OTAs tomorrow. A big part of their offense will be missing when they do. Mike Wallace has yet to sign his RFA tender. He is also not expected to be at OTAs according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
The Steelers are in the early stages of a new offense. This is valuable time for a guy like Wallace to get with his QB and work on timing in the new offense. Wallace has been called a one trick pony in the past but became more then that last season. He was starting to become a true number one receiver. He could have really used this time on the field with the team.
Wallace does not plan on signing his RFA tender anytime soon. He will most likely miss most of the offseason programs. He will sign sometime during training camp so he does not lose any money. He will play this season out and we will have this same problem next season.
The Steelers do control the rights to Wallace for the next 2 years. They can franchise tag him after next season and keep him ano…

When the Steelers open up OTAs tomorrow they will be without 3 main players. They have starter and Pro Bowler Mike Wallace out. They also will be missing potential starters on the offensive line David DeCastro and Mike Adams. Even with those guys out there will be plenty to watch. The team is very young now and there are many positions open and up for grabs. It will be intriguing to see where these guys line up.
5 Things to Watch:

Who lines up across from Ike Taylor at Cornerback? The Steelers no longer have William Gay for fans to pick on this year. The player across from Ike Taylor will be on of three guys. It will either be Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen or Curtis Brown. Who lines up across from Taylor will say a lot about where the team is going. It is expected to be Lewis. That would be status quo. We all would expect that. If someone else is in that starting roll tomorrow then it could be a battle to see who starts week one. It will also show how little the Steelers…

Tomorrow, the Steelers begin their OTA’s, and for die-hard fans, it’s at least a little taste of football, so to speak. We’ll get to see our boys in action again, albeit only in shorts, and we’ll get another glimpse of the new rookie crop………..well, except for DeCastro and Adams.

Speaking of that, Mike Wallace also won’t be there because of his contract dispute, and his absence will probably dominate much of the talk. Coach Mike Tomlin will more than likely have to spend the majority of his time with the media deflecting questions about his speedy receiver.

I don’t think that will be the only news. I’m sure there will be some “OTA Wonders” that really look good in their helmets and shorts, and we’ll marvel at their sheer athleticism.

Although, I’m pretty sure we won’t be allowed to marvel because I don’t think OTA’s are open to the general public.

In years past, before OTA’s, there was mini camp (there might still be mini camp, and if there is, I’m sure I won’t be able to tell the difference), and the thing that I remember most about Steelers mini camp was that it wasn’t training camp.

Mini camps, OTA’s, whatever you want to call them, are like the two or three days before your big vacation. You’re really excited about it, but you’re still bummed because you have another few days of work. Plus, you still have tons of things to take care of like packing, making sure the dogs get to the kennel on time, confirming your flight, and if you’re going out of the country, finding your passport.

You still have to get all of that stuff out of the way before you can even dream about being on the plane.

Training Camp, when the boys head to Latrobe in late July, now that’s more like it. For a football fan like me, that”s the equivalent to being on the plane to your tropical destination. It’s still not quite September, but you’re heading in the right direction.

OTA’s are more for the players than they are for the fans. It’s like the read-through before the actual rehearsal. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see some of my favorite actors and actresses rehearse before their big scenes; I find that pretty intriguing. But I have no desire to see them sitting around a table and reading their lines for the first time, months before the movie will even begin production.

I do realize that, at least for the offense, these OTA’s will be a little more urgent than in years past because of Todd Haley’s new terminology. But again, it’s for the players; it’s their script readings. As a fan, I don’t know how much enjoyment I’d get from it even if I could see it live.

When it comes to OTA’s, I’m more concerned about what a player doesn’t do than what he does do. I don’t want to hear about the great moves that (insert young rookie phenom here) displayed in OTA’s. I just want to know that his ACL is still intact after those great moves and that he’ll be attending training camp.

To sum it all up, these are the dog days of the offseason for a huge football fan like me. And OTA’s are just a reminder that we still have two months to go before training camp, which means we’re still a good four months away from the start of the regular season.

Oh man, now I’m even more depressed, Is there a way I can go into hibernation until September?. I hope that flight serves free drinks.

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – 93.7 The Fan Steelers Insider, and Post-Gazette beat writer, Ed Bouchette joined the Fan Morning Show on Monday morning to preview this week’s OTA’s.

Willie Colon informed us that he will be moving from tackle to guard this season, which opens the door for newly drafted tackle, Mike Adams to start the season at right tackle. Ed tells us that Marcus Gilbert will remain at left tackle.

Ed reported that Mike Wallace will not report to OTA’s because of his contract negotiations. Ed believes that is not a big deal, as long as he doesn’t miss training camp. However, the wide receiver is allowed to sit out nine games before his contract year is foregone.

Running back is an area of concern for the Steelers, and Ed reminds us that there isn’t a high draft-pick among them with Rashard Mendenhall missing time early on this season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will open their OTAs this Tuesday but they are going to without the services of WR Mike Wallace on the field. Accroding to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, two of the Steelers draft picks will also not be available to the team this week, but for reasons different from Wallace’s absence. OG David DeCastro and OT Mike Adams will not be attending because of league rules regarding the fact that their semester has not ended at Stanford and Ohio State respectively and both will not be able to join the team until June.
Wallace is not participating in camp due to the fact that he is unhappy with his current contract status. Wallace was given the restricted free agent tender which comes with a $ 2.7 million dollar base this season. Wallace wants a long-term contract, reportedly in the Larry Fitzgerald range in the neighborhood of $ 100 million dollars with $ 50 million guaranteed.
The receiver was a restricted free agent this offseason and another team …

The Steelers will begin OTA’s on Tuesday and will likely be without wide receiver Mike Wallace and two offensive line starters.

Wallace has not signed the one-year, $ 2,742,000 tender offered him as a restricted free agent, and various reports say he will not do so before Tuesday.

Wallace is not required to sign the tender and the only thing required of any of their players — provided they are under contract — is to attend minicamp June 12-14, which will end these spring sessions.

Come June 15, however, the Steelers are permitted to change the amount of that tender to 110 percent of Wallace’s 2011 salary. That would reduce his ’12 salary to $ 577,000. Sources say they will not do that, at least not before training camp opens.

Two rookies possibly being counted on to start on the line cannot report for OTAs either. The top two draft picks, guard David DeCastro and tackle Mike Adams, cannot attend until the semesters end at their schools. That means Adams, of Ohio State, will miss through the first week of June. DeCastro will miss all of OTAs and minicamp because Stanford’s spring quarter goes through mid-June.